iPhone assembler shuts China plant following workers' brawl

Taipei, Sept 24: Foxconn Technology Group of Taiwan, which assembles Apple's iPhones and manufactures components for electronics firms across the globe, shut down a plant in China on Monday following a clash on Sunday night involving 2,000 workers at a company dormitory.

While police and company authorities were probing the cause behind the brawl, it was not clear as to how long the plant would remain closed. Nearly, 80,000 people are employed at the factory located in the city of Taiyuan in northern China.

According to factory authorities, the trouble started with a personal row but according to some posts in a social networking site, it was the factory guards who beat up some workers and the brawl spread in reaction. Windows of a building located near the entrance gate of the factory were broken while paramilitary police vehicles were parked inside the factory premises after the clash, said an agency report.

Foxconn's (it is the trading name of Hon Hai Precision Industry) Taipei-listed shares fell by 1 per cent on Monday due to the incident.

Monday's brawl is the latest in the series of incidents that have occurred at Foxconn factories of late, said the agency report. Foxconn, the world's biggest contract maker of manufactured goods, has gained prominence as a supplier and assembler for Apple products. However, the company has been accused of maltreating its workers at its units in China. Foxconn employs about 1 million people in China.

The company has been trying to improve the working conditions at its units and raise wages. Authorities said the problem started at around 11 pm in a private dormitory and was brought under control at around 3 am.

China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported about 5,000 police personnel were pressed into action to stop the violence, it is learnt. Police sources said that 40 people were admitted to the hospital while a number of people were arrested. Xinhua sources said three people were in serious condition.

In June, about 100 workers went on the rampage at a Foxconn factory at Chengdu in southwestern China, the report said.